Hexagon
Chapter 73: Blood Ties, and Their Insignificance
Hello all, welcome back!
**WARNING** There are some very rapey insinuations toward the end of this chapter. I'm assuming everyone can guess which character's fault that is. Reader discretion please, especially if that's a triggering topic for you.
ALSO: I changed the Hexagon cover art! It's a drawing of Cinderheart done by moi! Unfortunately, fanfiction's image manager decide to delete the sides of the drawing, so the title isn't really visible, but just know it's supposed to say Hexagon.
A massive thank you to all the wonderful people that reviewed:
-thesirensong
-HollyleafML
-Tigercry
-WildxPaws
-Runereader of the Nightwings
-Briarfang (x2)
-LionCinder (x2)
-Bluestream (x2)
-Spottedice
-MoonLeaf
Again, a huge thank you to everyone! I appreciate all your comments, they literally make my day :)
Let's get on with the fic, shall we?
...
Ivypool's POV:
Upon waking up, I felt like I had been kicked by a horse. My body felt worn down and tired, and I was painfully aware of the bullet hole, which smarted angrily under my sleeve. My mind itself was groggy and slow. I couldn't think. What had happened? Where was I? Were the others okay?
It took me a few minutes to properly come to my senses, and I finally became properly aware of where I was. The room was bare and concrete walled, without a window in sight. The air was damp, giving me the impression that I was in the basement.
I looked up. I could see bulky pipes running along the underside of the ceiling and connecting with several gargantuan water boilers, furnaces, and air conditioning units. I assumed these had been to cater to the warehouse's adjoining office buildings.
On the other side of the room was a heavy pair of double doors. The words "STAIR E FLOOR 1" had been marked on the wall in aerosol paint.
In that moment, the doors swung open. It was Dovewing. Strangely enough, she was alone.
My sister stalked toward me in a brisk walk, and without warning, seized me by the back of the head and slammed my face into the floor. My lip split, blood running into my mouth as I felt the flesh begin to balloon as it swelled. Dovewing ripped my head back up by the hair. She paused to look me in the eye, and smiled. Then she slammed it back into the floor.
My nose gave an ominous crunch, a trickle of blood starting to creep out of my left nostril. Fighting down every urge to fight back, I kept still.
Above me, Dovewing was becoming angry at my lack of response. Enraged, she flipped me onto my back, and began pummelling at my face with furious fists. Her nails left long gouges across my cheeks. I didn't move.
"What the fuck is wrong with you!?", she howled. She got up, and started kicking. Her boots caught me in the stomach and I slid across the concrete, leaving a bloody smear on the plain gray. I wasn't sure how long it went on. Dovewing beat every inch of my body, alternating between kicks and punches, laughing every time I winced or whimpered.
Dovewing stood, panting, seemingly having exhausted herself. "Why won't you fight back?!", she snarled. "It's not fun if you just take it." I didn't bother gracing her with a response. I just glared up at her, running a hand across my lips and mopping up blood.
Dovewing was becoming reckless. The careful control that had previously inhibited her movements was long gone, replaced by wild punches and overswung kicks. Just a little longer. I was consoling myself. Wait. Dovewing ran a bloody hand through her own immaculate hair and smiled. Grinning, she lifted up the ruffles on her top, revealing the sharp glint of metal underneath.
My breath hitched.
My knives. They were strapped to Dovewing's hip, glittering ominously among rose colored satin. She must have taken them off me while I was out.
Whatever self control I'd been able to maintain promptly flew out the window as I rose, fists raised.
"Finally!", Dovewing remarked. "I was getting bo-"
She never got to finish her sentence. My shoulder rammed into her at full force, and she toppled backwards onto her ass. I was on top of her immediately. I used my knees to pin her down, and working deftly, managed to unclip my knives from her waist. The second that plastic buckle snapped shut around my own hips, I felt like I could take on the world.
Dovewing's eyes had grown huge with fear. On a whim, I reached to Dovewing's thigh holsters, which held the bolt stunners, and unclipped those, too.
The heavy bulk of the bolt stunners felt strange and unfamiliar in my hands, but I didn't let that bother me. I directed the circular muzzle right onto Dovewing's chest. My sister was practically blubbering with terror at this point.
"Ivypool, don't", she pleaded. "We're twins, aren't we? Family! You can't do this!" I couldn't help myself. I began laughing out loud. Her hypocrisy, and the irony of the situation was almost too much.
"The keys, Dovewing", I snarled, my laughter dying down. "Give me the keys to their cells."
"I can't do that, and you know that!"
"I don't care. The keys. Hand them over."
"I'm your sister! Don't you care what Brokenstar will do to me?"
My voice dropped dangerously low. "Our blood ties", I hissed coldly. "Mean nothing to me. I don't care that we shared a womb. You gave up your right to call yourself my sister when you shot me and tried to kill my friends."
I had no regrets when I pulled the trigger.
…
As it turned out, Dovewing had stationed her two lackeys outside the doors of Stair E. I took the two of them out with laughable ease. Spinning the keys between my fingers and armed to the teeth, I broke into a jog down the hall. I had to find the others.
…
Half Moon's POV:
"What time is it?", I croaked quietly. My sweatshirt was doing nothing. Despite having burrowed into the fabric as far as I could, the chill seeping through the thin insulation was no match for my dinky little hoodie.
"I-I don't know", Cinderheart shivered. She was even more unlucky than I was, all she had was the Hexagon warmup jacket, which despite all its fancy lettering, was too thin to properly keep anyone warm. "They stole my phone while I was out. Midnight, maybe?"
Fallen Leaves was pacing, what I assumed was a last-ditch attempt to keep himself warm. How long had we been in here? 3 hours, 4, or maybe 5, who knew.
After hours and hours of silence and isolation, the rattle on the doorknob came as a shock to us. We exchanged bemused glances, until Fallen Leaves finally called, softly, "Who's there?"
On the other side of the door, someone gave a quiet victory whoop. My whole body seemed to feel the shock as I recognized the voice- Briarlight?
The doorknob gave another, more violent rattle and this time our rescuers were successful. I was sure that the door's slow, creaky, swing was the most suspenseful moment of my life. When it finally opened, the sight of the hallway and its inhabitants was possibly the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life.
There, grinning, were Hollyleaf and Jayfeather, accompanied by Briarlight and Ivypool. Ivypool stood a little apart from the others, on high alert as her gaze darted around the hall, looking for any Dark Forest members. Despite the calculating focus on her face, she was smiling.
The platinum blond was armed to the teeth, her dagger sheaths clipped around her waist and bolt stunners in their holsters at her thighs.
Fallen Leaves and Cinderheart had wrapped Hollyleaf in a tight, double-bear hug. Smiling, Jayfeather wrapped me in an embrace as well.
"My Stars, Half Moon", he said, voice full of relief. "Briar and I were worried sick."
Cinderheart stepped back, smiling. "How are you guys here?" Her voice dropped. "I saw them take Lionblaze away. How are you two still here?". She was gesturing to Jayfeather and Hollyleaf. Both of their faces iced over in frigid determination.
However, it was Ivypool that spoke first. "Dovewing took me away, too. She thought she'd try to torture me." Ivypool scoffed. "I took her out and got the keys from her. Then I went to rescue these three." Then she nodded to the siblings, urging them to share their story.
Hollyleaf said coldly, "Heathertail came and took Lionblaze to her personal rooms. We need to find him before she….well." Hollyleaf trailed off. There was no need for her to finish her sentence. We had already realized the kind of danger Lionblaze was in.
This horrible realization had dawned on Cinderheart, too. The silverette pointed quietly down the hall. "They took him this way", she murmured. "We need to hurry. Who knows what she might have already done."
End Chapter 73
I just...feel so bad for these poor characters ::sniff::
Reviews would be lovely.
Azra out!
